You know it's going to be a rough day when you lose the sponge in the fridge. I am not doing well with a deficit of sleep. The kids find it humorous.
Sponge for breakfast? Why, of course!
Yay for Alex! His text book lists dissections as "optional," but he was intelligent enough to know if Mom has a closet full of animals in chemicals, it probably is mandatory! Score for initiative. While Stacia freaked out, he commented, "It's not much different than cleaning fish!"
The difference being having to find various parts and label them. I'm not sure he ever determined the gender.
Stacia is becoming a pro at keyboarding. Here she works on Mavis Beacon.
Alex spends an hour a day on the elliptical. Nolan loads his pack with 35# of books this week, and tries to walk 6 miles a day. They are preparing for a four day mountain hike in May. Stacia has been walking with Nolan. They asked me if I wanted to come and I declined. They stopped by after walking 4 miles, and asked if I wanted to do the last 2 miles. I did.
We observed a few more signs of spring....there are more birds than Ravens out singing. Yuuki needs a bath after every walk (due to mud and muddy slush). Our driveway is a skating rink - despite the hours of ice removal the guys are executing.
It will be fun to note and share the signs of Spring we observe. There is NO DOUBT this is unlike Spring in the Pacific Northwest, CA or TX. I've previously mentioned the piles of slush falling from the roof, and the never-ending battle with the ice from the thaw/freeze routine of these days.
Today we noted:
We can see the markings on the road - all the way across!
Stacia is desperate to enjoy the snow before it disappears.
My seeds are sprouting!
Wind is stirring the snow on the mountains! We are so blessed to live in our valley, we can hear the wind above us, but it blows right on past us without touching down.
It's been suggested this is far too much work. I like knowing what's in the broth. I LOVE making something which will save us money from things we would have thrown out otherwise - veggie scraps and carcasses.
Ingredients:
1 Turkey carcass
Drippings from turkey
Bag of veggie parts*
leftover gravy
3 - 5 bay leaves
8 or so peppercorns
6 whole cloves
salt to taste
4 Qts water (I just fill it to the top)
*I dumped in a LOT of thyme, rosemary, parsley, marjoram this time and it tastes much better - use your taste preferences.
*Bag of veggies - onion stops, carrot ends, celery pieces...whatever I have left over or from chopping goes into a a gallon bag in the freezer. When I make stock I dump it into the pot.
Directions:
Bring to a boil. Skim off the foam that rises.
Simmer long enough for broth to reduce by 1/2 - this takes 3 - 5 hours. I've discovered if I let it reduce by about 1/4th - it is at a 1/2 when I remove the bones and strain the veggies.
Remove bones, strain veggies. I strain in my colander 3 or 4 times. If you want it without any bits of herbs - use cheesecloth.
Cool in fridge or out in snow on deck.
Skim the fat off the top.
Put into freezer bags or begin the canning process.
Some of the process is in this video at the 1:40 mark.
It appears that ice management will play big in our first Spring in Alaska. More on this on the video.
Michael had no therapy or tests today. He had another sleepless night last night. Maybe a word on this is in order. This is not simply insomnia. Some have suggested we need to work harder at casting anxiety on God....while this may be true, it is NOT the main root of the insomnia around here. Some nights the tremors (external and internal) are worse than others and keep us awake. Other nights it IS insomnia caused by meds. On top of the Parkinson's, Michael has a variety of chronic pain symptoms stemming from Gulf War Syndrome. GWS encompases a host of symtoms; both arthritis like, GI related and fibromyalgia - in other words his muscles and joints are both on fire. The VA has been great at figuring out what was WRONG, but not so good at offering any answers to reduce the pain. His pain level has not been below a 4 in years....and at times it's enough to keep him awake or pacing the floors. He doesn't complain. It's amazing, isn't it? He slept in today - and it was a well earned sleep.
I busied myself during this rare "at home" day with "house admin" type stuff. I worked on figuring out a tricky insurance claim, in the process I discovered our prescriptions have gone up in price. I had a few women's ministry contacts to follow up - answering questions about the start of our upcoming Bible study and how to get on Facebook, solidifying details for April's Gathering. I finished the broth and canned it AND we had Orange Chicken (from scratch) for dinner. This continues to be a favorite and is healthier and cheaper than Panda Express.
The kids did school. The boys helped with ice removal. Stacia helped me with dinner and helped Bre with a walk. Michael gave me confidence the pressure cooker was working as intended.
Is it rain? It's snow. It's rain. It's big, fat, slushy, drops of snow that splat when they land.
It's warm enough that snow is falling off the roof again. It used to slide off in big sheets. Now, it splats and splashes like big, squishy cow pies from heaven. Seriously.
We worked on school, a few projects, took walks, and always snow and ice management.
Springtime in Alaska
Yes, I called it Spring. I've done a bit of polling among locals. This is what emerges as the consensus. Spring, if you have it in Alaska, is this. March and early April will be full of warm days, freezing nights, periods of melting followed by big storms of wet, slushy snow. Noticeably absent, as of yet at our place, are tulips, green grass and budding trees. If one wants to have spring - this is it.
Break-up will happen in mid- late April. The nights will get warmer. A cosmic switch is flipped and all of a sudden mountain snow is melted, water rolls down the roads, yards give way to grass and the weather stays above freezing. I've heard over and over, "They legalized studded tires until May for a reason." There it is! We may have a few more storms in our future.
Summer will come quickly on the heels of Break-up. If we want Spring - this is it it. We are finding the seasons fascinating.
Stacia has been working on a Home Ec class this year. She's completed several sewing projects (PJ's, a dress, pillows, placemats), several knitting projects (hats and more hats and a scarf is in the works), and has learned a myriad of cooking tricks. She can bake cookies, cakes and cheesecake from scratch. She makes several entrees: Enchiladas, Tacos, Chicken Divan, Veggie Pot Pie... Part of her class has been participating in Raddish Cooking Club. Each month she gets a box with a cookie tool, some conversation starters, three recipes and more. This month they all centered around an Irish Theme.
She asked to make dinner. I was her sous chef - I basically cleaned up and chopped. She did a great job. In the video we ask - is this mint green or blue? There was an on-going debate about this on Saturday. LOL
If you'd like to watch her preparing dinner, click here. If you don't want to miss future videos, subscribe and click the bell icon to get notifications.
Everything was wonderful! I'll post recipes below.
Lucky Leek and Potato Soup A Traditional Irish comfort food - we understand why. Ingredients:
2 lbs or Russet potatoes (about 4 small)
1 Onion
1 large Leek
3 T Butter
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 C vegetable Broth
1/2 C Heavy Cream (opt if you want it vegan)
Directions:
Peel and cut potatoes into 1 inch cubes. Set aside.
Dice onion.
Cut root away from leek. Slice both white and green parts into thin pieces. Wash leeks in colander until water runs clear. Add to onions.
Saute leek and onion in butter. Add salt and paper. Cook until soft, 6-8 minutes
Add broth and potatoes. Bring to boil. Cover and simmer on low 15-20 minutes.
Puree soup until smooth. (We may leave some potato chunks in the future). Irish Cottage Pie An authentic savory pie. Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs russet potatoes (about 3)
1 T + 1 tsp salt (salt to taste)
1 onion
2 carrots
2 T olive oil
1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
1/4 tsp garlic powder (we used quite a bit more)
1 T worcestershire sauce
1 tsp thyme
1 T tomato paste
3 T flour
1 1/2 C beef broth
1/2 C frozen peas (used corn instead)
1/3 C milk
3 T butter
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450*.
Peel potatoes, cut in to 1 inch pieces, add to large pot, cover with water and 1 T salt. Bring to biol over high heat, reduce heat to medium. Cook until tender, 20 min. Drain. Continue to prepare filling while you wait.
Dice onion and carrots. Heat oil in pan over medium high heat. Add carrots and onions. Cook util softened, 6-8 min.
Add beef, salt, garlic powder, worcestershire, thyme, and tomato paste. Break beef into small pieces.
Add flour, broth, and peas. Bring to boil. Cook until thick, about 2 min. Add filling to 8x8 baking pan (ours was a bit bigger).
Mash potatoes with butter and milk.
Spread potatoes even on top of filling.
Bake until potatoes are browned and filling is bubbling, about 15 min.
Sticky Toffee Pudding Irish-style pudding - a dense cake topped with toffee sauce!
Tastes WAY better than it looks!
Ingredients: Date Cake
8 oz pitted dates (1 1/4 C)
1 1/4 C water
1 tsp baking soda
1 stick butter
1 C brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 eggs
1 1/2 C flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350*.
Grease and flour a 9 x 13 pan.
Add dates, water and baking soda to pot. Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to med-low and cook 3 min. Turn off heat, cool 2 min. Add date mixture to blender. Blend until smooth.
Add softened butter, brown sugar and vanilla. Blend until smooth.
Add eggs, flour, baking powder, and salt to blender. Blend just until combined.
Pour into pan. Bake 30 -34 min, until toothpick comes out clean.
Ingredients: Toffee Sauce (Prepare AFTER baking)
1/2 C cream
1 1/4 C brown sugar
6 Tb butter
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp salt
Directions:
Add cream, brown sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt to medium pot.
Bring sauce to boil over high heat. Cook until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.
Poke holes in cake with a toothpick. Pour half of the sauce on top.
